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Thursday, December 02, 2004
'Winnie' death toll at 400; illegal logging blamed
MANILA -- The number of fatalities in floods and landslides wrought by a tropical depression that hit Luzon on Monday has gone up to 407, disaster officials said Wednesday.
Disaster officials also listed 141 persons still missing.
Two were reported missing in Isabela and 139 people were unaccounted for in the provinces of Quezon, Rizal and Aurora.
Of those who died, 306 were from the towns of Real, Infanta and General Nakar in Quezon Province, which was worst hit by the weather disturbance.
Heavy rains accompanying tropical depression Winnie triggered flashfloods and landslides in the areas.
President Arroyo ordered the police and military on Wednesday to conduct a nationwide crackdown on illegal logging, which is being blamed for the flashfloods and landslides in Luzon.
An even more powerful weather disturbance was poised to hit areas devastated by Winnie late Thursday or Friday.
The weather bureau said Typhoon Yoyong gained strength on Wednesday and continued to threaten Luzon.
The typhoon is expected to hit Aurora Province by Friday morning.
Tropical depression Winnie hand caused some P40 million in damage to property and agriculture.
Heavy rains brought by Winnie triggered flooding in the low-lying areas of the provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Quezon, Camarines Norte, Rizal and Metro Manila, particularly Quezon City, Marikina, San Juan and Malabon.
The floodwaters also rendered roads and bridges impassable to vehicles.
Rescuers were still struggling on Wednesday to reach three Quezon towns devastated by the floods and landslides.
Soldiers continued on foot to the towns carrying with them relief supplies as landslides rendered the roads impassable and bad weather made it impossible for helicopters to land in the areas.
Thousands of families in Quezon and other affected provinces remained in various evacuation centers.
Nine helicopters from the Philippine Air Force, rubber boats and M-35 trucks were utilized in the search and rescue efforts.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) committed its Special Action Force, Maritime Group, and the Regional and Provincial Mobile Groups to help in search and rescue missions under the direction of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council.
President Arroyo went to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) office in Camp Aguinaldo to get updates on the damage caused by Winnie and on rescue and recovery operations.
The NDCC facilitated the release of 2,500 sacks of rice costing P2 million from the National Food Authority warehouse to local government units in the provinces of Camarines Norte, Aurora, Quezon and Bulacan.
The Department of Health sent 200 cadaver bags and five bags of lime at 40 kilos each bag to Infanta and Real in Quezon province where landslides have occurred.
The Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council of Aurora provided 150 sacks of rice to the displaced families from the town of Dingalan.
The local government of San Miguel, Bulacan distributed 30 sacks of sugar, 15 boxes of coffee and 20 boxes of noodles to evacuees.
The police, meanwhile, activated "Oplan Saklolo".
PNP Chief Edgaro Aglipay said Oplan Saklolo places all PNP units on full alert to conduct rescue and relief missions.
He cancelled the scheduled PNP command conference in Cebu City on Saturday to allow the police to focus on relief and rescue operations in the provinces affected by the typhoon.
Aglipay ordered all funds to be used for the command conference be given instead to police provincial offices in areas severely affected by the storm to be used for their rescue and relief missions.
The police chief flew to central and northern Luzon to assess the ongoing rescue and relief operations by PNP units and other government agencies.
Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus earlier directed the Bureau of Fire Protection to assist the police in rescue and relief operations.
Arroyo, meanwhile, said illegal logging must now be considered as the "most serious crimes against our people."
"The series of landslides and flashfloods that hit several parts of the country should serve as a wake-up call for us to join hands in preserving our environment and stepping up reforestation," she said.
"This is not only important to prevent further loss of lives and property in the path of natural calamities; it is vital to the preservation of our farms and the overall economic strength of our nation," she added.
Arroyo, upon arrival from Laos late Tuesday night, called for a close-door meeting of the NDCC to get the latest update on the onslaught of tropical depression Winnie. She arrived at 11:25 p.m.
The meeting also tackled measures in anticipation of Typhoon Yoyong, which is expected to hit Regions 3 (Central Luzon), 4 (Southern Tagalog) and 5 (Bicol).
Some parts of the three regions are still underwater due to flashfloods while in some areas several landslides also occurred.
Arroyo ordered local officials in the three regions to undertake the needed precautions to minimize the impact of Yoyong and ensure the safety of their residents.
Arroyo also ordered the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and the Department of National Defense to work together to ensure the steady supply and distribution of food packs, medicines and other supplies to victims, particularly in Real, Infanta and Genaral Nakar in Quezon, which were the hardest hit by Winnie.
She cancelled her trip to Infanta and Real on Wednesday due to bad weather. She instead witnessed the ceremonial take off helicopters tapped to bring the supplies to Quezon.
Arroyo later attended a briefing on the status of Winnie and Yoyong at the NDCC headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo before proceeding to Montalban, Rizal to check on the conditions of the evacuees and lead the distribution of food packs to them.
Raymond Arcillas of San Jose in Montalban was among the first to receive the relief assistance.
Arcillas's wife and four children drowned in a flashflood.
Arroyo expressed her sympathies to the evacuees and assured them they would be assisted by the government.
Vice President Noli de Castro was supposed to personally oversee the distribution of supplies in Quezon but due to "zero visibility" they were unable to land.
At least three landing attempts were made.
Presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye said the government's immediate concern is to provide for the victims and rescue those who are directly affected and threatened by the calamities.
Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soiliman said dry food packs are now being coursed through the local government officials led by Governors Wilfrido Enverga of Quezon, Tomas Joson III of Nueva Ecija and Bellaflor Angara-Castillo of Aurora due to difficulties in reaching the affected areas.
Soliman said Tuesday dry food packs were dropped of in Real, Infanta and General Nakar while relief assistance was only "successfully" brought to Aurora Wednesday morning.
The NDCC, in its report to Arroyo, said a total of P7.64 million has been released to the victims of Winnie.
Of the amount, P2 million went to the purchase of 2,500 sacks of rice for the victims in Camarines Norte, Aurora, Quezon and Bulacan while P3 million went to food and other supplies.
Of the P2.64 million released by the DSWD, P1.4 million went to cash assistance, P878,825 for the purchase of relief goods, P70,209 as assistance to local government units and P300,000 as standby funds.
The Department of Health, for its part, provided 200 cadaver bags and five bags of lime for the recovered bodies in the landslides in Quezon.
At the Senate, President Franklin Drilon appealed to his colleagues in Congress to allocate portions of their Priority Development Assistance Funds (Pdaf) to calamity funds of the government.
He made the appeal following the big number of victims of flashfloods and landslides in the wake of tropical depression Winnie.
"Maybe a portion of the Pdaf can be realigned to answer for these calamities. I think the public will understand and appreciate that," Drilon said.
The Senate chief said the realignments would be discussed in the 2005 budget deliberations.
Sen. Manuel Villar, on the other hand, said 25 percent of calamity funds of local government units should be used for the disaster management program.
This is in response to the emergency needs of the people affected by the calamities.
"We should not be caught off-guard anymore when they happen. We should be prepared to deal with calamities even before they happen," Villar added. (JFF/JMR/JPM)
(December 2, 2004 issue)
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